When it comes to buying expensive textbooks, South African students face financial difficulties. To obtain specialized textbooks, students must make sacrifices, including food.
Because of this widespread problem, a student from Molteno in the Stormberg highlands was able to get to the finals of the 2022 MTN SA Women in Digital Business Challenge.
The Eastern Cape Province village where Ncubeko Noyila was born is known all over the world for its rusks. It is also recognized as the location where a young lady with a talent for information technology made life simpler for a whole generation of college students at that institution.
Noyila’s move to the University of the Free State led to Noyila’s business breakthrough, an app named Rebooked, which addresses a glaring need in an academic environment where the majority of people are unable to afford new books. Before this, Noyila had already been an entrepreneur who tried out different business ideas in Molteno.
Noyila’s early work on the Rebooked app was recognized while she was still in her first year of university. As a result, she was offered a spot in an MTN mentorship program, and a year later, she took part in the MTN SA Women in Digital Business Challenge. Both of these opportunities came about because of her work on the app.
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It took another year for Rebooked to be developed after it had already been in existence for a year. Noyila said, “I was lucky to be able to use the MTN mentoring program to get advice on the many legal and business issues that needed to be thought about before the app was released.”
People who want to buy or sell used books can do so through the Rebooked app. This is an alternative to the traditional way of buying brand-new academic books or recommended textbooks from a small number of dealers at full price.
Because textbooks could cost well over R1000 (which is equivalent to $56.82), many of us were forced to borrow and share books or spend countless hours at the library in order to read them. This was because textbooks could cost well over R1000. This certainly made studying and doing well in classes more challenging.
Before, Rebooked was only active during certain times of the year because it only covered university literature. Now, the app caters to all book enthusiasts, from book club members to people searching for a good read.
Noyila believes Rebooked app opens doors to literature
“I see Rebooked as a place where aspiring authors can self-publish and promote their e-books and traditional paperbacks. It could also be a place where aspiring writers and experienced authors can hold live and virtual seminars to talk about their work and inspire others.
In 2023, the site will incorporate a book-creation option. benefits. benefits. benefits. ” The balance will be used to improve the app. Noyila designs an app.
“Ncubeko Noyila is evidence that your location, even a distant rural place, is no obstacle to forging a career in IT,” says MTN SA Foundation’s Angie Maloka.
Her inquisitive mind and learning to code before working on Rebooked show her commitment. All eleven winners have this trait.
“It’s rewarding that she’s made a place in IT and helped hundreds of others learn.”
MTN’s Women in Digital Business Challenge helps ICT SMEs throughout the continent. It gives 10 SMME applicants a total of R1 million for working capital, company growth, physical assets, mentoring, and new technology or software.
Our ten finalists are examples of what women can accomplish in a challenging sector. We look forward to hearing more about them as they change the business in South Africa, “Maloka said.”
